Blogger Boss to Leave Google

Updated: Evan Williams, who created and helped turn Blogger into a leading Weblogging tool, says he's ready for his next act.

The co-founder of Blogger, one of the original Weblogging services that is now owned by Google Inc., is leaving the company by the end of the week.
Evan Williams, who started Pyra Labs in 1999 and later launched the Blogger service, wrote on Monday in his personal blog that he has resigned from his program manager position at Google and that his last day will be Friday.

Williams came to Google after the search company purchased San Francisco-based Pyra Labs and Blogger in early 2003. Since that time, Williams wrote that Google continued to give him and the Blogger team much independence, but that he decided of his own accord to move on.

"I cant help fuel any Google acquires company, kicks out founder headlines," Williams wrote. "Google management pretty much let my team and I retain control of Blogger since we got there."
It was unclear who will take over the lead role for Blogger within Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, and a Google spokesperson on Tuesday said the company could not discuss Blogger details right now.
"Hes made significant contributions to blogging, and we respect his decision and wish him the very best in his endeavors," the spokesperson said of Williams departure.
To read an earlier eWEEK.com interview with Williams, click here.
But Williams wrote that he has been working with the Blogger team on the services strategy and will continue to serve as an informal adviser.
"Blogger is in excellent hands," Williams wrote. "I wouldnt feel comfortable leaving at all if I didnt believe that."
Williams is a well-known figure in the blog-tools industry, regularly speaking and attending conferences on blogging and social software. He wrote that while he is interested in exploring a new Internet startup at some point, for now he plans to take time away from the hustle and bustle of the technology industry.
Blogger underwent its first major revamp under Googles direction in May of this year, and in August Google more closely tied its AdSense program with bloggers and added a Blogger toolbar atop blogs hosted by the service.
News of Williams Blogger departure was greeted with congratulations from fellow bloggers and competitors. One of those praising Williams role in the industry was Anil Dash, vice president of the professional network at blog-tool maker Six Apart Ltd., whose TypePad service competes directly with Blogger.
"Evs work, and the talent of the people hes had working with him over the past decade, have both been big inspirations to me," Dash wrote in his blog. "And Im glad its ended up with him in a position where he can pursue new challenges."
Editors Note: This story was updated to include comments from a Google representative.Check out eWEEK.coms Messaging & Collaboration Center at http://messaging.eweek.com for more on IM and other collaboration technologies.

As an online reporter for eWEEK.com, Matt Hicks covers the fast-changing developments in Internet technologies. His coverage includes the growing field of Web conferencing software and services. With eight years as a business and technology journalist, Matt has gained insight into the market strategies of IT vendors as well as the needs of enterprise IT managers. He joined Ziff Davis in 1999 as a staff writer for the former Strategies section of eWEEK, where he wrote in-depth features about corporate strategies for e-business and enterprise software. In 2002, he moved to the News department at the magazine as a senior writer specializing in coverage of database software and enterprise networking. Later that year Matt started a yearlong fellowship in Washington, DC, after being awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship for Journalist. As a fellow, he spent nine months working on policy issues, including technology policy, in for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He rejoined Ziff Davis in August 2003 as a reporter dedicated to online coverage for eWEEK.com. Along with Web conferencing, he follows search engines, Web browsers, speech technology and the Internet domain-naming system.